Monthly Archives: August 2015

The Skyline GT-R (R32) is back in action, taking it to the native mountains in Okutama for some 1v1 with the GC Auto GC10-V8. Given the GT-R relies on the torque of that straight 6 turbo to pull ahead, how will it do against a V8 opponent laying it down in RWD? It’s up to the AI and the roadway to decide that.

Okutama is a powerful track in either configuration, the downhill helps level the playing field in acceleration while the tough initial corners allow drivers to pursue the fastest lines they can to pull ahead and leave the challenger in the dust. It’s a delicate blend but on the track it just looks like a mad dash to victory at any cost, cutting corners as tight as possible to save seconds and speed.

The GT-R came out ahead, normally the opening section is the attack point I like to use on Okutama. The GT-R has great traction and power where you can just leave it wide open with a hard flick of the car and push on your way. Since the AI tries to go for standard grip and high traction through the course it’s a weakness you’ll see no matter what the difficulty. Even if the AI goes in at full speed through the corner, they generally lose on the braking contest coming in and you can chisel away a lead.

When all else fails the other defining points for attack are the base of the downhill before the first bridge, there’s an S section that comes up and with the right setup it’s possible to slide the car and avoid some of that drag from the slope of the corner by coming in tight and early. Later in the second run I’m not quite able to get the gap I need so I rely on the curving back section before the tunnel to leave the car wide open and cut as straight as I can through the switches.

Okutama has many points to gain an advantage on an opponent or equal the playing ground, in Touge it’s a challenge of picking where you’ll make those moves and if you can avoid being disqualified for contact.

GRID 2 action is back again, the Skyline GT-R (R32) is taking on the Caterham SP300R in a battle to the limit on Route D’ Azur course. It’s a tighter track with unforgiving side walls but that’s generally the breaks when you’re on Cote D’ Azur in any game. Given the weight of the GT-R it’s not entirely with the biggest advantage, the power of the car and the 4WD are the strengths the car needs to rely on here since it slides and there’s not a ton of room to really play with on the roads here. Given the Caterham does have the weight advantage it should be able to hold its ground a little better even on the uphill climbs.

As you can see, I have a few wall bumps and sketchy moments but it’s the beast mode of the GT-R that carries it through. Late braking and throwing as much speed into the corners without dogging the engine is a key element to staying afloat, managing that it allows the torque of the GT-R to really come into play and pull ahead with the fastest average speed throughout the course. The biggest challenge to the GT-R usually for me on Cote D’ Azur is the braking challenge as it’s easy to get caught up in the momentum of the track and push some of these switch back sections a little too hard leaving for some bad crashes.

The Caterham put up a fight but the SP300R wasn’t destined for greatness this round, maybe next time guys.

More features will continue dropping through the late summer and Fall season, keep an eye out for more adventures with the GT-R and everything else I get sucked into.

Hello everyone, today you’re catching part of a new video series for BAM. where I (VX2) take on new and old racing titles within my Steam library. We’re checking out GRID 2 in a series of Touge races. Today focuses on Hong Kong’s Peak Road Descent in the daytime hours, it’s a street track that has a few twists and turns that throw off the weight of the car at higher speeds. In the later sections there are lower speed areas that lead into tighter corners where racers have to decide entry and exit strategy to keep up the fastest line until the last break on a long bending stretch of highway.

Personally for the Touge races I favor 4WD because I like to hang the car out a little more and make a show not only for the replay but for myself. The GT-R allows for this and in the rougher sections of Hong Kong I don’t stress the traction loss as hard as there are more chances to recover the car (although that didn’t stop me from hitting some walls in the replay at inconvenient times). It’s a personal preference although I’ve done well with RWD and FWD cars of other power levels and designs, when I want to have some fun it’s easier to do it here with that 5SPD transmission and have enough drag off the line to really put it to any opponent so I can grab that first corner in Tier 3 racing.

I hope everyone enjoys the video, there are more coming this season as I tackle more GRID 2, GRID Autosport, DiRT 3, DiRT Rally, Assetto Corsa and pretty much anything else I can get my hands on.